Hurricane Central

Gulf of Mexico Hurricane Drought was the Longest in 130 Years

By Jonathan Belles

September 01 2016 04:00 PM EDT

weather.com

Cyclone Idai has left more than 300 dead in Mozambique and neighboring Zimbabwe. Hundreds of thousands are homeless.

At a Glance

Hurricane Hermine put an end to the 1,080-day hurricane drought on September 1, 2016.

Before Hermine, the Gulf of Mexico had not had a single hurricane enter or develop in its waters since September 2013.

That streak eclipsed the longest drought on record, dating to 1886.

Hurricane Hermine put an end to the Gulf of Mexico hurricane drought on Sept. 1, 2016, when it strengthened into a hurricane at 1:55 p.m. CDT in the Gulf of Mexico, just over 100 miles south-southwest of Apalachicola, Florida.

Prior to Hermine, no hurricanes had entered or developed in the Gulf of Mexico since September 2013, a stretch of 1,080 days. This streak is now the longest on record, dating to the late 1800s.

Hurricane Ingrid, which made landfall in northeast Mexico in September 2013, was the last hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico before Hermine.

Note that the Gulf of Mexico was delimited as 22 to 31 degrees north, and Danielle would not have been included in the above streaks if it had become a hurricane. The Bay of Campeche was not included as part of the Gulf of Mexico.

20: The center of a hurricane, called the "eye" can reach up to 20 miles across. The weather in the “eye” is actually oddly calm, with low winds and clear skies. (Photo by NOAA via Getty Images)

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